The following is the full text of the speech:

Officers and men of the heroic Korean People's Army,

Commanders and combatants of the units participating in the parade to be held in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army,

Dear Pyongyang citizens and other people across the country,

Today, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, revolutionary regular armed forces, by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, we are holding a grand parade of the combat units of the Korean People's Army.

The first parade of the regular armed forces held 70 years ago in the square in front of the Pyongyang Railway Station demonstrated the proud image of the newly-emergent Korea, and today's military parade will demonstrate the mettle of the powerful Democratic People's Republic of Korea which has developed into a world-class military power.

Availing myself of this opportunity when we are looking back with deep emotion on the proud militant course of history of the heroic Korean People's Army, and reflecting the great emotion overflowing in the hearts of all our service personnel and people, I would like to extend noblest respect and infinite glory to the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, who founded and built up the Juche-oriented revolutionary armed forces.

I also would like to extend noble respect to the fighters of the anti-Japanese revolution and soldiers of the People's Army who fought with revolutionary arms in their hands, dedicating their youth and even lives without hesitation to the reunification and sovereignty of their country, to the liberation of their fellow people and to socialist construction, and greeting the army founding day, I offer my warm congratulations and militant salute to the war veterans, discharged soldiers and all the officers and men of the army.

My heartfelt thanks go to the working class, agricultural working people and other people across the country, who readily placed their sons and daughters, whom they had brought up with great care, at the posts of national defence, and have provided on a top priority basis, even in the face of difficulties and trials, everything needed for increasing the combat capabilities of the army.

Comrades,

Together with April 25, when Comrade Kim Il Sung founded the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, February 8, when he founded the Korean People's Army, revolutionary regular armed forces, is a day of historic significance in building up the revolutionary armed forces and accomplishing the revolutionary cause of Juche.

Our people, who had to experience the miserable fate of a ruined nation for lack of an army worth mentioning, ardently desired for a powerful army of their own.

This centuries-old desire of our people was achieved 70 years ago this February 8 under the wise leadership of the great Comrade Kim Il Sung.

After the country's liberation the great Comrade Kim Il Sung set the founding of a powerful regular army as a prerequisite for developing the country into an independent and sovereign state. He stepped up the cause of army building by dint of his outstanding ideas and energetic leadership, thereby founding the Korean People's Army, the revolutionary regular armed forces of the Juche type, in a matter of less than three years.

The Korean People's Army is, both in name and in reality, a revolutionary army that inherited the traditions of the anti-Japanese struggle?the indomitable revolutionary spirit of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army and its rich fighting experience and adroit art of warfare.

Thanks to the birth of this Juche-oriented regular army our Republic, from the very beginning after its founding, enjoyed the prestige of being a dignified people's country with its own strong armed forces; it defeated the imperialist aggressor forces that had been boasting of being the "mightiest" in the world and achieved a great victory in the Fatherland Liberation War.

April 25, 1932, the day when our revolutionary armed forces began to take historical roots, was fundamental to vanquishing the brigandish Japanese imperialists and realizing the sacred cause of national liberation; February 8, 1948, the birthday of our regular armed forces that inherited the traditions of the anti-Japanese struggle, was crucial to the great victory of the Fatherland Liberation War and the successful advance of our socialist cause.

The whole course of historic development of the Korean People's Army has been accompanied by constant tension and intense confrontation in the world's largest powder-keg and hottest spot which is pregnant with the danger of outbreak of a war.

Being faithful to its mission of defending the country, the revolution and the people, our army has smashed the enemy's adventurous provocations at every step, upholding the military line of self-reliant defence and the banner of "a-match-for-a-hundred." In the course of this, it has been developed into an invincible combat force capable of defeating any enemy, however formidable, at a stroke.

In the grimmest and most difficult period when it had to fight against the allied imperialist forces of the world single-handed, with no flanks and with no support from outside, our People's Army performed remarkable exploits by waging a heroic, do-or-die struggle in the first line of the revolution under the leadership of the great Comrade Kim Jong Il.

As this elite revolutionary army played the role of the standard-bearer and solid cornerstone for defending socialism and the revolution at the forefront of the anti-imperialist military front and the construction of a prosperous country, our Republic has won one brilliant victory after another in the battle to safeguard socialism and gained the high reputation of a world-class military power.

In world history cannot be found any other nation that accomplished the great cause of army building from scratch by relying on its internal forces and built an elite army in spite of the protracted, worst-ever challenges and blockade; such brilliant exploit of building a powerful army for the sake of national prosperity is a miracle that can be wrought only by the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the peerless patriots and iron-willed commanders.

Officers and men of the People's Army,

The Korean People's Army, which made its first fine appearance through a magnificent parade 70 years previously, has become what it is today, hoisting the flag of victory in the fierce battle fields in defence of the country and people.

Our army, which has grown up into a world-class powerful army, is a stout pillar in preventing the catastrophe of war and defending peace on the Korean peninsula and in the region and a force that makes breakthroughs in the vanguard of the grand march of our people towards final victory for the socialist cause.

Now our people regard as their great pride our brave People's Army which is struggling with the spirit and stamina of Paektu, and are gaining fresh strength and courage from the militant might of our army which is growing stronger day by day.

The People's Army has won the sincere affection and trust of the people at the cost of blood, sweat and death-defying devotion, achieved oneness with them enjoying their enthusiastic support and assistance, and performed feats on the fronts for defending the country and building socialism.

It is a source of pride for our Party and state and a great fortune of our people that they have such a dignified and powerful revolutionary army, an army of the people.

I deem it the highest honour to have assumed the heavy responsibility of supreme command of the courageous revolutionary army.

On behalf of the Workers' Party of Korea, the government of the Republic and all the people, I once again warmly congratulate all the officers and men on the occasion of the 70th founding anniversary of the heroic Korean People's Army, and extend militant greetings to them.

Combatants of the units participating in this parade and all the other officers and men of the People's Army,

As the Party and the country have high expectations of it and the people are sincere in their affection for it, the People's Army must defend the country and the people reliably through faithful service and devoted struggle as befits the army of the Party and people.

The People's Army should increase its political and military capabilities to the maximum as suited to the status of our dignified state to meet the demands of the times and the developing revolution, and firmly guarantee by force of arms the struggle of our Party and people to accomplish the socialist cause.

The central task facing the People's Army at present is to perfect its combat capabilities as befitting a revolutionary army by holding aloft the banner of modelling the entire army on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and implementing to the letter the strategic lines and tasks for increasing the military strength put forward by the Party.

The People's Army should be boundlessly loyal to the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The Korean People's Army is the army of our Party which was born and built up in the embrace of the Party; the source of its mightiness lies in the Party's revolutionary ideas and leadership.

It should become the first death-defying corps, the first guards unit, sharing its destiny with the Workers' Party of Korea and defending its Central Committee with arms.

It should firmly establish the unified leadership system of the Party within itself, create a revolutionary military climate in which all its service personnel move as one under the command of the Party, and organize and conduct all types of military work on the basis of the Party's lines and policies.

It should maintain strengthening itself politically and ideologically and making itself morally sound as its two major tasks, and concentrate all its efforts on preparing itself as an army that is strong in ideology and faith like the 7th Regiment during the anti-Japanese war and the Guards units during the Fatherland Liberation War.

It should raise more fiercely the flames of the revolution in training to improve its capability of fighting a war.

Training is precisely the way to defending the socialist country and the people, and the short-cut to turning the People's Army into a powerful army is to make the most exacting demand upon its soldiers under training.

It should steadily improve the content, style and method of training in line with the Party's ideas on military strategy and tactics, with the demands of the Juche-oriented tactics and with the demands and features of modern warfare, and should not stop even a day practical training in a virtual combat environment.

In the present situation, in which the United States and its vassal forces are making a fuss around the Korean peninsula, the People's Army should remain on full alert and give a spur to perfecting its combat preparedness.

Thus we must prevent any aggressive forces from violating or offending the dignity and sovereignty of our sacred country in the slightest.

Units of all services, arms and corps must intensify training aimed at having a command of their military hardware and improving their specialist levels, so as to make full preparations for waging hi-tech warfare in any operational space.

In particular, the People's Army must present building itself up into an army, which is excellent in all aspects, as an important strategic task in line with the requirements of the new, higher stage of turning the entire army into an army of cadres and modernizing it, and give top priority to its implementation.

The People's Army must establish rigid ethos and assume the appearance of a perfect regular army.

All the service personnel, from privates to generals, should be well versed in military regulations and manuals, and make it part of their habit to abide by them, thus ensuring that all units, sub-units and other places where there are soldiers always present regularized features.

All the officers and men of the army, always bearing in mind that the People's Army cannot exist even a moment separated from the people, must boundlessly respect and love them, and constantly sustain the fine traits of the revolutionary army, whose soldiers defy death if it is for the sake of the people.

The People's Army must not weigh the importance of undertakings intended for the people, but regard it as a revolutionary military climate to devote all its sincerity with the most honest attitude.

Holding higher the patriotic, revolutionary slogan "Let us take upon ourselves both national defence and socialist construction," it should give free rein to its unexcelled heroism in all places for translating the people's dreams and ideals into reality by displaying fortitude and creativity, not knowing the word impossible, and continuously take the lead in the struggle for transforming the country into a more beautiful land.

Comrades,

As long as imperialism exists on the globe and the United States persists in following its hostile policy against our country, the mission of the People's Army, as a powerful sword for defending the country, people and peace, can never be changed.

Final victory belongs to our Party and people with a firm grip on the arms of the revolution.

Our Party and people are fully convinced that the Korean People's Army, which has provided a military guarantee for the revolutionary cause of Juche, will continue to reliably defend the Party and the revolution, the country and the people, and increase its strength in every way possible to safeguard justice and peace.

As long as we have the Korean People's Army that is unfailingly loyal to the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea, our glorious motherland?the Democratic People's Republic of Korea?will grow more powerful and more prosperous.

All the service personnel of the People's Army,

The flag of the ever-victorious Workers' Party of Korea will always lead the way ahead of you, giving you a great encouragement and rousing you to fresh struggle and victory.

Let us fight bravely for the Party and the revolution, the country and the people.